they say the world's at our fingertips (so let's make it ours)
by The Crownless Queen
Summary: They share everything with their lions - is it really surprising that the lions share some things with them too? Or in which the lions give their pilots superpowers. It's not always as fun as it sounds, but they make do.


**they say the world's at our fingertips (so let's make it ours)**

 **.o.**

Truth is, not even Allura, with all the knowledge she has at her fingertips, knows how the lion were made, or how they work.

They can repair them, and add to them, and sometimes, when they're lucky, they can even understand how they work, but knowing _why_ they work that way is another story entirely.

The paladins might be the closest chance the galaxy has to figure out this mystery though, bonded as they are with each other in general and with their lions in particular, but even that is mere conjecture on the last two Alteans' part.

It doesn't surprise them however, when the paladins begin to exhibit some… unusual characteristics linked to Voltron and their lions. After all, the bayards have only ever been the first step toward something greater, and they're materialized by their wielder's will.

But Allura had never seen Voltron being used back on Altea, and Coran wasn't privy to such matters. Even her father isn't much help there, only saying that the paladins would be able to defend themselves as long as they have their lions' trust and faith.

 _(she recognized the twinkle in his eyes that meant he was teasing her, and the realness of the hologram steals her breath away one more time)_

Since they have no more information, they keep silent and wait to see what will happen next.

It doesn't take long.

 _(and while the Alteans aren't surprised, the humans_ are _)_

 **.i.**

Lance figures it out first.

Well, he says _figure it out_ , but what he means is more like _it happens to him_ first.

But they're fighting, and he's been feeling _off_ for days now, not quite skin but definitely different. His skin itches and he shivers sometimes, and he'd be worried if not for Blue _contentment-trust in me-laughter-'just wait you'll like it'_ at the back of his head.

He's fighting and he's good – he's been getting so much better what with all the training Shiro forces on them (and Keith too, because Keith trains all the time and sometimes the only way to spend a moment with the guy is to let him pound you into the ground, not that Lance actually enjoys it or anything) – but the five of them are outnumbered and they've gotten separated, and Lance's getting tired.

Whatever those Galra are fighting with isn't lethal – thank god for that or they'd be in even more trouble – but it still hurts to get it, and Lance is good at dodging but four against one is still unfair, especially in close quarters where his gun is slightly unwieldy, so when Lance sees that last hit coming he knows he won't be able to avoid it entirely.

He's already been hit too many times though, and he desperately want to avoid another one, and suddenly his skin tingles more madly than usual, and at the back of his head Blue is suddenly _roaring_ , and he can't quite tell if it's happy or not (maybe it's both) but it's free, and something just _breaks_ inside of him.

He shoves his hands forward, barely noticing that his bayard's been dismissed, and the world turns ice-cold and blue, and all the Galra freeze where they're standing, locked in mid-motion, leaving his fellow paladins untouched.

Lance blinks and he's back to normal, Blue grumbling reassuringly at the back of his mind, and _holy shit_ he's just developed ice powers, how awesome is that?

"Did you guys see that! Wow, now that's what I call firepower baby!" Lance shouts as he pumps his fist in the air in victory, and he'd say more, but the ground is suddenly rushing toward him and his last thought as the world goes black is 'shit, that's gonna hurt'.

(Keith catches him of course, not that Lance will ever know)

His teammates' reactions are a mix of 'what the fuck just happened' and 'is he gonna be okay', to which all answers are 'no idea', until they get back to the castle and Allura states that though she can't explain what's happened, it's perfectly normal and a side-effect of bonding with their lions.

Two weeks later, one a foreign planet they're exploring to try to find old documents that might help against the Galra Allura believes her father hid there, Keith burns down the men chasing them.

Lance is, of course, unspeakably jealous, though he insists that activating his superpowers first makes him better.

("They're not superpowers!" Keith protests loudly every time Lance calls them that, to which Lance unfailingly responds with "Of course they are, you can shoot fire from your fingertips and I can turn people into popsicles, what else would they be?")

It takes some more time, but one time they get captured and when Hunk hits a wall in frustrated fear, the wall breaks down, and another Pidge jumps out of the way of an incoming attack and finds herself far higher than it should be possible for an human to go.

It's weird, but not weirder than slightly telepathic lions, so they get used to it, and secretly place bets on what Shiro will be able to do.

 **.ii.**

It is kind of weird, Keith thinks as he watches Lance try to blast the target with this weird power he's taken to calling a 'cold blast', for Lance's element to be ice.

Not because the other teen had spontaneously developed a 'superpower' that mirrored his lion's attack – it's actually not the weirdest shit to have happened to them since they started on this 'save-the-universe' crusade – but because it doesn't really seem to fit with Lance's character.

Lance is always in motion, always talking – the only time he hasn't been so far had been during that terrible Galra attack on the castle, when for a single heart-wrenching moment Keith had actually thought that Lance might be _dead_ – and ice is anything but that.

Ice is cold and harsh, it's winter and loneliness, and it isn't – it isn't _Lance_.

 _(but ice is unrelenting and formidable too, and though he'll never admit it to anyone but himself, Lance certainly behaves like he is a force of nature himself)_

 **.iii.**

"So, if I'm a waterbender, you're a firebender and Pidge and Hunk are sort of able to bend the other elements, does that make Shiro the Avatar?" Lance starts with one morning as everyone stumbles in to get breakfast.

He blames the lack of sleep for that particular line of thought, as well as the vague remnants of dreams he's still trying to chase out of his mind, but to be perfectly fair it made a lot more sense in his head.

And well, they're piloting giant lion robots that combine in a giant robot warrior in space that they use to fight against an evil alien dictator, and they were _chosen_ , so who knows? Maybe Shiro _is_ destined to restore the balance of the universe or something like it.

He'd definitely fit the bill after all.

"What's an Avatar?" Allura asks from where she's sitting in that polite tone that means she's humoring him in the hope of trying to find out something useful about humans.

Beside him, Keith, who he had adressed, seems to be torn between sending her a disbelieving look and sending Lance his usual 'have you lost your mind' glare and subsequent diatribe.

Hunger seems to win out in the end though, since he just sighs exasperatedly and shakes his head, before going to grab himself a plate of the green goo they've all had to get used to.

He can't seem to resist commenting however, since Lance hears him muttering curses to himself, all amounting to the usual 'I can't believe this is happening'.

"The Avatar is-"

"Nothing important," Pidge interrupts. "Lance's just being his usual idiot self, don't worry about it."

"Hey!" Lance protests at the same time as Allura asks for more information. "I thought it sounded interesting though. I mean, if it could help you figure out these new abilities of yours… Wouldn't it be useful?"

Pidge winces and sends an irritated look Lance's way, which he promptly ignores as he tries to make sure Hunk doesn't choke himself to death after some of the goo went down the wrong way at Allura's last sentence.

"It's from a children's cartoon," Keith explains, rolling his eyes, "where a bunch of kids help another super-powered kid save the world."

"Oh," Allura states, sounding almost disappointed, while Lance rages.

"You can't just say it like that, you idiot! The Last Airbender is a masterpiece, it's poetic, it's beautiful, it's…"

("Is he aware no one is listening to him anymore?" Pidge whispers at Hunk, who finally recovered from his sudden burst of laughter/chocking.

"Probably not. But then again it's Lance, so he probably doesn't care. Besides, I think Keith's still listening."

"You're right," Pidge whispers back, looking surprised.

"I know! They're the _worst_!"

"You don't mean…"

"Yeah, I do."

"What does he mean?" Allura interrupts in a hushed tone, leaning toward them, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Instead of answering, Pidge simply gestures discreetly toward the two boys still arguing.

Allura's eyes widen. "Oh. _Oh_. Really?"

" _Yes_.")

The argument is finally cut short by Shiro's arrival, the last to arrive this time. Apparently, there _is_ a first time for everything.

It prompts Allura to ask her next question ("What a children's cartoon?"), which leads to a convoluted explanation where everyone tries to add details to what can be considered a good cartoon, and the differences with anime or even animated movies, which in turn leads to Allura proclaiming that of course they had something similar on Altea, and that 'if they want she can probably dig up a few from the data banks of the castle' and that 'yes, in fact, she insists on it'.

It takes Shiro half a second to take in everyone's panicked faces and promptly try to defuse Allura's enthusiasm – he too does remember the last time the princess introduced her guests to another 'harmless' Altean tradition – by suggesting that they finish breakfast first, and that they then have a long day of training ahead of them.

Hopefully the whole thing will have been forgotten by then.

 _(it doesn't quite work out that way, and the five humans spend half an hour blinking at a screen that shows them something that is definitely_ not _suitable for children)_

The earlier debate isn't forgotten however, and it only ends three days later when Shiro finally gives in and asks why Lance is throwing weird glances his way.

"He thinks you're the Avatar," Hunk supplies helpfully while Lance tries desperately to act like he wasn't just caught in the act.

"Right," Shiro replies, blinking.

"It's Lance," Pidge points out, and yeah, that does make sense – Lance's brain does work in mysterious ways.

"That's ridiculous. If anyone fits the description it'd be the princess. We did wake her up from a thousand years long coma after all."

"You're right!" Lance exclaims. "This makes so much sense! Still, you'd be a great Avatar Shiro."

"Thanks," Shiro replies, nonplussed, and the matter is closed.

 **.iv.**

Of course having powers isn't all that great all the time.

Lance has nightmares where he goes back home on Earth and finds his family frozen there, perfect smiles itched on their faces like they're ice statues rather than human beings, daunting laughter floating in the air.

When he touches them they crumble under his fingertips, and he always wakes up screaming, his sheets covered in frost, Blue sending _comfort-let us rip apart your enemies-hush-don't be afraid_ his ways.

It helps, but not enough.

Keith flinches when people touch him sometimes nowadays, and although he's never said it out loud, he knows everyone knows it's because he's afraid he'll burn them too if they come too close.

Red tries to guard his thoughts and it works when he's awake, but so far there hasn't been a single night where the screams of his victims hasn't haunted his dreams.

 _(and dear god, he has victims now, and they probably weren't good people and he knows he shouldn't_ care _, it didn't matter against the Galra but it does now, and he knows it can't just be because they looked humans instead of alien, it just_ can't _)_

Hunk starts feeling safer off the ground than on it, and whenever they're not fighting he clings to whoever's closest to make sure that if the ground swallows him up this time, if the earth crumbles beneath his feet, at least he won't be alone.

Pidge starts to stay closer to the ground whenever there is a fight – no jumping, because the power is theirs but they can't control it, not yet, so who knows where they'll end up if they jump too high (sometimes they're afraid the wind will just carry them away forever, never letting them down again) – and they learn to wear special weights in their shoes that can be activated whenever they want, just in case.

They all change, but they adapt, and after a while this becomes the new normal.

Not quite the best, but definitely not the worst either.

 **.v.**

It takes much longer for Shiro, but eventually Black mumbles something at the back of his mind, shuffles some things, and suddenly it's right _there_.

He's never seen thunder flash black before, but when he calls it it does, and it spreads like wildfire to all of his enemies, and he knows – he _knows_ – that he's fried them like circuitry fries with too much power, that they never really had a chance against him.

He's badly out of breath afterwards, and the edges of his vision keep going black, but his team is there and that's _good_ , that's great even.

It's another way that marks him as different though – his arm only feels like his when he's not looking at it these days, because he still doesn't remember how or why he got it – and he's not sure how he feels about that.

 _(these days, he's not sure how he feels about a lot of things)_

Behind him, Lance is excitedly reenacting the entire battle, complete with sound and the word 'awesome' inserted every three other words.

Keith pretends to ignore him while glaring at him – and how does he even think that this is supposed to work Shiro will never know – while Hunk alternates between praising everything he can think of for letting them live and adding details to Lance's story, and Pidge is poking at the downed enemies to see if there might be something salvageable in their equipment that they can adapt for their own weapons.

It warms something in his heart, to see that these kids can still stay so _good_ and _light_ even after all they see. Sure, they're gotten better at acting serious, and he thinks that they truly get the danger they're all in now in a way they didn't before – there are shadows in their eyes that weren't there before, and Shiro would mourn for their presence if he didn't also know that those same shadows might allow them to live longer.

But they're still innocent in a way he hadn't thought anyone could remain after what they see every day, and maybe – just maybe – they can teach him how to be like that again.


End file.
